Top Reasons to Catch UFC Saudi Arabia

Nassourdine Imavov stands on the doorstep to an opportunity that could permanently alter his trajectory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division.

“The Sniper” will set his sights on two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya in the UFC Fight Night 250 headliner on Saturday at anb Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Imavov, 29, enters the cage on the strength of three consecutive victories. He last saw action at UFC Fight Night 243, where he laid claim to a three-round unanimous decision over former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Brendan Allen on Sept. 28. Imavov holds a 7-2 record with one no contest across his 10 assignments inside the Octagon. Adesanya, meanwhile, has suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time in his 28-fight career. The 35-year-old City Kickboxing star last appeared on Aug. 17, when he tapped to fourth-round face crank from Dricus Du Plessis in a failed bid to reclaim the middleweight crown at UFC 305. Adesanya has amassed 13 wins as a member of the UFC roster, tying him with Nate Marquardt, Thales Leites and Yushin Okami for sixth on the promotion’s all-time list at 185 pounds.

In addition to the high-stakes Imavov-Adesanya middleweight showdown, here are three other reasons to catch UFC Saudi Arabia:

Kickstart Our Hearts

Sharabutdin Magomedov appears to have a clear runway to stardom in the middleweight division. The undefeated Dagestani muay thai practitioner puts his perfect 15-0 record on the line against Michael Page in the hotly anticipated co-main event. Magomedov, 30, has stopped 12 of his 15 opponents by knockout or technical knockout, seven of them inside one round. He last suited up at UFC 308, where he wiped out Armen Petrosyan with a pair of spinning backfists in the second round of their Oct. 26 pairing. Armed with a hyperactive kicking game, Magomedov owns other UFC wins over Bruno Silva, Antonio Trocoli and Michal Oleksiejczuk. On the other side of the equation, Page has pieced together quite a highlight reel of his own. The 37-year-old British karateka boasts 16 finishes among his 22 career victories. However, Page finds himself on the rebound following a unanimous decision loss to Ian Garry at UFC 303 in June.

Power Trip

No two heavyweights embody the chaotic nature of the heavyweight division any better than Sergei Pavlovich and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. They are set to lock horns in a three-round heavyweight showcase to determine exactly where they fall in what has always been a volatile pecking order. Pavlovich, 32, steps back into the spotlight on the heels of consecutive defeats. The 6-foot-3, 260-pound Russian last strapped on the gloves at UFC on ABC 6, where he wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision against former Bellator MMA and M-1 Global champion Alexander Volkov on June 22. Pavlovich’s power nevertheless speaks for itself: He has five sub-minute finishes on his resume. Rozenstruik, meanwhile, looks to build on the momentum from two straight victories. The resurgent Surinamese kickboxer owns a 9-5 record in the UFC. Rozenstruik, who turns 37 in March, has delivered four of his 15 pro wins in 30 seconds or less.

Back in the Saddle

Said Nurmagomedov’s last name alone carries the weight of expectation on its own, even though he and former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov are not related. The 32-year-old Russian makes his latest attempt to crack the Top 15 bantamweight rankings when he tackles Vinicius Oliveira in a three-round feature at 135 pounds. Nurmagomedov has posted five wins across his past six outings, a unanimous decision defeat to Jonathan Martinez his only misstep. However, the Fight Club Akhmat product faces an uphill climb after an extended layoff, as he has not fought since he put away Muin Gafurov with a guillotine choke a cool 73 seconds into their UFC 294 encounter on Oct. 21, 2023. On the other side of the docket, Oliviera appears to have hit his stride. The Dana White’s Contender Series graduate and ex-UAE Warriors champion has posted four consecutive victories, three of them by knockout or technical knockout.